Lima, Perù – 15 June 2023
Minister of Environment Albina Ruiz highlighted the support of Swiss cooperation through 15 years of continuous collaboration.
In order to strengthen the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regime in the country, the Ministry of the Environment (Minam) will promote the formation of a public-private group by the end of June this year, with a view to developing the activities set out in the work plan for the management and handling of this type of waste by 2030, within the framework of a circular economy.
This was announced by the Minister of Environment, Albina Ruiz, during the closing ceremony of the Sustainable Recycling Industry – SRI project at the Swiss Embassy in Lima, Peru, marking 15 years of cooperation between Switzerland and Peru to develop a sustainable WEEE management system in Peru.
In this context, Ms. Ruiz stressed that the cooperation with Switzerland contributed to the management and proper handling of WEEE, which served to develop the National WEEE Regulation, being the first regulatory element to consider the principle of extended producer responsibility in Peru.
In this sense, she highlighted that, thanks to this initiative, it was possible to optimize the value chain in the recovery of these wastes and to bring the management systems closer to the district municipalities of Lima and Callo. “In the last year, this has also been taken to the provinces, where training processes have been carried out for municipal staff,” she said.
In turn, the Swiss Ambassador to Peru, Paul Garnier, underlined his country’s support in the management of WEEE. He said that this is a very important issue for his country and the planet. “The achievements of this support have been very important for the proper management and handling of this waste stream, strengthening a regulatory framework and capacity building processes for municipalities”, he said.
He then thanked Minister Ruiz for including the circular economy in the priorities of the current government.
– The Sustainable Recycling Industry (SRI) project is an initiative promoted by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Swiss Confederation (SECO) and Peru, through the Ministry of Environment (Minam). The programme is also implemented in other SECO partner countries, Incl. Colombia, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa (http://sustainable-recycling.org)
– The event was also attended by the Vice-Minister of Environmental Management, Giuliana Becerra; the representatives of the World Resources Forum (WRF), Mathias Schluep and Sonia Valdivia; as well as WEEE operating companies, management systems, municipalities and Inacal, among others.
